


Thalassophilia

by dentsucree



Series: For Love of the Sea [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Brainchild AU, Character Death, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:56:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25394233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dentsucree/pseuds/dentsucree
Summary: Here she is two weeks later, renting out a cabin by the beach in Montauk to get away from the suffocating loneliness of the tiny apartment she and Percy used to share, while still wanting to feel close to him somehow.Here she is without a best friend and husband, holding a crying baby in her arms.A baby who was supposedly hers.A baby born out of her own thoughts.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: For Love of the Sea [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839223
Comments: 13
Kudos: 56





	Thalassophilia

It’s barely five in the morning and Annabeth is rocking her daughter in her arms trying to calm her cries.

Not for the first time this week, Annabeth is at a loss. She already fed the little one and checked her diaper. Nothing seemed to be wrong. She tried giving her a pacifier and humming some lullabies, but it was all for naught.

She has no idea how to take care of a baby. While she’s looked after her younger siblings, even the youngest demigods arrive at camp well past their toddler years. She’s used to caring for children - not newborn infants.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

She’s answered by a loud cry and flailing arms.

Her heart aches for the little girl. She wants nothing more than to take away whatever it is that’s making her baby feel so bad.

Annabeth briefly wonders if her daughter somehow senses her father’s loss despite never meeting him.

Another round of wails disturbs her thoughts.

She feels her chest tighten and tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Oh _gods._ She _cannot_ have a panic attack while her own child is in distress.

She briefly sets her baby down on the bed and puts on a light sweater. After quickly checking if she has everything she needs in the baby bag, she gathers her sobbing daughter in her arms, leaves the cabin, and heads for the beach.

~

Today was supposed to be their wedding day. She was supposed to wake up next to her fiancé in Cabin 3 after sneaking out of Cabin 6 in the middle of the night (for old time’s sake). She was supposed to have some old friends from the Aphrodite cabin fuss over her makeup and hair. She was supposed to walk down the aisle on the sands of the camp’s beach, look into the loving eyes of her best friend of fifteen years, and say _I do_.

Funny how the Fates can turn on you so quickly.

A little over two weeks ago, they were on their way to Camp Half-Blood to check in on their wedding arrangements until a group of Keres ambushed the two. It had been a while since they were attacked by monsters and these vicious spirits of death were fueled by their deep desire to enact revenge on the son of the sea god - apparently, on behalf of Nyx and Akhlys.

Nevertheless, they were well-trained veteran demigods. The fight was going well and both Percy and Annabeth thought they had taken care of them all.

It all happened too quickly. Annabeth saw a dark figure whiz past her and behind Percy.

“For my mother and sister!” the remaining Ker cried.

Before Annabeth could warn Percy, the monster dug her poisonous claws into the small of his back.

He was poisoned by one of them once several years ago on a quest with Thalia and Nico. He almost died, but Iapetus or, Bob, healed him. Only gods and giants had the ability to cure this poison and well, nobody but two mortal demigods were there.

~

So here she is two weeks later, renting out a cabin by the beach in Montauk to get away from the suffocating loneliness of the tiny apartment she and Percy used to share while still wanting to feel close to him somehow.

Here she is without a best friend and husband, holding a crying baby in her arms.

A baby who was supposedly hers. _Born out of your own thoughts_ , Athena had explained to her with a tinge of pride in her voice.

A baby who, it seems, is being calmed by the cool, morning ocean breeze and the sound of waves crashing against the shore.

_Just like her dad._

Annabeth doesn’t really know if she can call Percy this child’s father. As much as she would like to, in the most technical of terms, he took no part in her creation nor can he even raise her as his own. He has no idea she even exists. But looking down at her daughter now…

If it isn’t her dark hair and tan skin, it’s those deep, sea-green eyes that only once belonged to her fiancé that would lead anyone to believe that this little girl was his.

Her cries have dwindled to tiny hiccups now and relief washes over the new mother.

Her eyelids start fluttering – a telltale sign Annabeth learned a few days ago that her little hurricane is about to fall asleep.

She takes this time to admire her daughter’s features. Everything about her is impossibly small: from her short lashes and minuscule o-shaped mouth, to her balled up fists and tiny little toes. 

She’s absolutely adorable and precious.

And Percy isn’t here to see her.

Annabeth closes her eyes and takes a slow, deep breath, letting the cool air fill her nose and holds it for a few seconds.

She releases the air from her lungs through her mouth and pushes away the beginnings of a sob out into the open air.

After a few moments, she finds herself looking down at her daughter again.

She should probably give her a name, Annabeth supposes. It’s been a week and she has yet to call her little one by anything other than “baby.” It would be dishonest of her if she said she hasn’t thought about it. She’s a daughter of Athena for crying out loud. Lists and plans are everything to her. But when Rachel asked what her baby’s name was, she responded with,

“I don’t know.”

In truth, it had a lot less to do with indecision and a lot more to do with fear.

Fear that in naming her child, she would be a permanent fixture in her life. Not that she didn’t love her – _gods_ , she had no idea that she could love another human being more. But she is twenty-seven and a rising star in the world of New York City architecture.

And the love of her life just died.

Adding a baby in the mix was not part of any of her plans. Giving this baby a name only made this bizarre twist of fate more real. More permanent.

But the hard truth is, this has all been real. It’s been real since Percy took his last breath. It’s been real since his body was burned with his shroud. It’s been real since her mother showed up on the front steps of the Poseidon cabin and confirmed that this child was hers.

She owes her daughter – _their_ daughter – a name.

_Sophía_ , Annabeth decides, will be her first name. It seems a little cliché to name a descendant of Athena “Sophia,” but Percy was always fond of it. They had talked more about the idea of children in the past year and Annabeth would always roll her eyes at Percy’s choice of names.

“ _Wisdom._ Isn’t it a little too on the nose?”

Percy would shrug and say, “It’s pretty.”

Considering this little girl was quite literally born out of Annabeth’s own thoughts, the name feels appropriate.

She looks out into the vast expanse of the ocean. It’s calmer now than it has been in the past few weeks. She wonders if Poseidon is controlling it for her sake.

She remembers early morning walks by the beach and candlelit dates on the pier. She remembers joy and laughter from her best friend as she sputters out saltwater from her mouth after being unexpectedly pulled under the churning waves. She remembers their underwater kiss – young, shy, and full of hope, fresh out of saving the world at sixteen years old. She remembers love; a love so dangerous and tumultuous her mother warned her once, a love so overwhelming and encompassing: a love as deep and boundless as the sea.

_Pelagía_

_Of the sea_

A fitting name for a child out of her love for the son of the sea god.

As Apollo drives his chariot across the sky, she greets her newly named daughter,

“Good morning, _Sophía Pelagía_ ”

~

**Σοφία Πελαγία**

**~**

**Author's Note:**

> I encourage you all to copy and paste the greek spelling of the name on Google and listen to how it is pronounced :)
> 
> This headcanon was inspired by @psychohannahlyze's idea that Annabeth can manifest a child in their fic "Sight of the Sun" on Tumblr. Except in my hc, Percy is dead. Sorry. I can't control where my brain goes. So much pain. And angst. But Annabeth has a little baby daughter so...I hope you find comfort in that! If not, I encourage you to read their fic! It's so sweet and fluffy!
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below! I appreciate any and all comments <3


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